Flame and Thunder
by Hallelujah Wolf
Summary: Marcus, the Blazing Heart, joins the League of Legends. His peculiar younger brother joins as his summoner. Marcus will make many friends and he will meet a certain bear. Rated M for some reasons in future chapters. My first contribution to the site, hope you like it! :) I'M BACK AND WORKING ON CHAPTER V! The Harrowing is coming to the Institute...
1. Chapter I: The newcomers

**Disclaimer: I do not own any League of Legends character, those belong to RiotGamesInc.**

**I do own my OC's, so don't use them in other stories without my permission or claim them as yours.**

**Enough boring talk. Let's begin, shall we?**

**Flame and Thunder**

Chapter I: The newcomers

It was almost noon in the Institute of War, summoners were spread around the large gardens, chatting, playing and doing some other activities. Some champions could be also seen around: Fizz, the Tidal Trickster, was playing pranks to some summoners in the big pond; Ahri, the Nine-Tailed Fox, was surrounded by a cloud of fans (most males) signing autographs.

When it was exactly noon, two figures covered by robes with cowls covering their faces entered the gardens walking silently towards the Great Hall of the building. One was average tall while the other had a child's height.

They instantly caught the attention of Ahri and Fizz, as they could sense in their their auras that one of them wasn't a summoner. The strangers kept walking without stopping until they reached the entrance of the building. Ahri's lips curved into a slight smile of interest, while Fizz didn't seem to care much.

The Great Hall was the largest in the world: the ceiling was so high and the room so wide. The two newcomers approached a large wooden counter that sat in the middle of the room. An old human with a long white beard in a grey tunic was waiting behind the counter. They stopped there and removed their cowls. The taller one was an anthropomorphic young wolf, with dark red fur and shining golden eyes. His gaze was so intense that it seemed he could look into the soul of the poeple. The shorter figure was another anthropomorphic wolf, much younger and his fur color was a mix of brown and red. His eyes were emerald green, with an enthusiastic and hyperactive look always on his face.

"Greetings, strangers, welcome to the Institute of War, how can I help you?" the old man spoke.

"We hace just arrived from far lands, and wished to have a room to rest" the bigger wolf spoke in a polite, silky, calm voice.

"Hmmm" the old man examined his face trying to recognize who was he. "Oh, my apologizes sir, I didn't recognize you, Marcus, the Blazing Heart" the old human bowed his head respectfully. "And I reckon that your companion must be the new summoner, Ethan, the Young Genius" the old receptionist bowed his head again.

"Don't call me like that, it's embarrasing!" Ethan raised his tone, slightly bothered by the 'tag'.

Marcus looked down at the younger wolf "Ethan, please behave" his tone turned into a serious one, yet calm.

"Yes, brother" Ethan replied, lowering his gaze with his ears flattened.

"I am sorry young master" the old man said sincerely "Then, shall I give to both of you the keys of your rooms and wish that you have a comfortable stay."

"Thank you sir" Marcus answered. The receptionist gave them indications to find their rooms before they left the Great Hall heading upstairs.

They stopped when they arrived to the eighth floor. There was a long corridor to the right that had lots of doors aligned in both sides. Then the corridor continued outside the building and linked it with another one, like a bridge.

"Well, these are the summoners' rooms, and champions' rooms are there" Marcus said tilting his head slightly towards the other building. He leaned down and put his hands on his younger brother's shoulders. "Ethan, I'm sure you wil be ok until we met again, right?" the taller wolf asked.

"Don't worry brother, I'll be fine!" Ethan replied smiling enthusiasticaly.

"That's my boy" Marcus smiled and hugged him shortly. Then, he and his brother waved and both headed to their respective rooms.

While Marcus walked through the corridor of his assigned building, he met somebody's eyes before walking past her. She let out a barely audible giggle when she saw him, looking at the new face with curiosity. The woman was a little shorter than him, her pale skin contrasted with her long black hair, gathered in a ponytail. She wore glasses upon her forehead, her ruby red eyes scanning him. She wore dark green shirt and pants underneath a large red cape, tall brown boots covered her feet and her hands hid inside of a pair of iron gauntlets.

Marcus made sure to remember her face, when he eventually reached the door of his room. It was very simple, but looked comfortable. The furniture consisted of a large desk with four drawers under its left side with a desk chair, both under a wide window with plain white silk curtains. To its left there was a bed (which caught Marcus' attention, since he was so tired after the long trip he had made) and in front of the bed there was a plain wooden closet. To Marcus' right there was a door which leaded to the bathroom.

Marcus removed his robe and put it into the wardrobe, then approached the desk and saw a note written in a small piece of paper. The note basically welcomed him to the League of Legends and said that there was a welcome gift inside the first drawer of the desk. He opened it and found a blue sphere adn another note next to it. _"This is a Sight Sphere. It's used to watch matches that are currently being played. You just have to hold the sphere in your hands and the sphere will show you an image of the match. It also can give you information about the other champions in the League."_

Marcus wanted to see one match but he was too tired, so he placed the sphere on the desk and let his body lie on the surprisingly comfortable bed. He fell soon asleep.

* * *

**Vayne's POV**

(That afternoon)

After I walked past that handsome red wolf in the corridor, I made my way downstairs to the hall of the champions building, towards the Cantina.

It was a bar for the champions where you could meet, eat and drink. There were a lot of round tables spread by the place. Then I walked to my usual table to meet the girls. Miss Fortune was chatting and laughing loudly with Sivir, while Nidalee was listening to Ahri, who was probably telling her somethingbanal, as usual.

When I approached the table I interrupted their conversations with a loud "Yeah, whatever you are saying, shut up and listen!" They stopped talking, looking at me shocked, then I put a naughty grin on my face, and made a slight pause, just to add excitement to the moment and to enjoy their impatient glares.

"Guess who just joined the League?" I practically sang that sentence.

I paused again, to enjoy their nervous glares "Spit it out, come on!" Miss Fortune said a little annoyed. I continued.

"He's a very handsome wolf with dark red fur and golden eyes, when he looked at me his gaze was _so_ intense that he seemed to set fire into me!"

The squeal of excitement we let out all at once could be heard outside the Cantina.

* * *

**Marcus' POV**

Someone knocked the door of my room. I slowly got up and looked through the window to see the sky. The sun was beggining to set as the sky had a beautiful orange color, so I figured it was around dinner time. More knocks on my door.

"I'm coming!" I said loudly walking to the door.

When I opened the door I saw the same old man that welcomed me and my brother at the hall. He bowed his face and spoke:

"Great Marcus, I shall let you know that your first practice match will take place in the Summoner's Rift tomorrow in the morning. I beg you to be there in time. You will have to head to the invocation room, where the rest of the champions and summoners will attend as well."

I nodded. "I will be there, thanks".

He spoke again "Then, may you rest well until tomorrow". And he bowed again before leaving.

"_Hmmm, maybe I should check the Sight Sphere to learn about the other champions, it would be useful for my first match"_ I thought. The only thought of 'first match' made me shiver. I grabbed the blue sphere and sat in the desk chair, then I began to search information about the champions.

After a while, I began to feel sleepy, I was still tired and wasn't hungry at all, so I left the sphere on the desk before I sat up and lay down on the bed. I fell asleep again quickly.

(The next day, early in the morning)

I woke up feeling full of energy and thought of Ethan, I hoped he slept well too, because today was going to be exciting, that's for sure.

I was worried, I had to admit that. But my fluffy red tail was wagging of excitement. I took a deep breath to try to control myself, and headed downstairs to the Cantina; I saw in the Sight Sphere that it seemed a very comfortable bar, and a place to meet other champions.

When I entered the Cantina, it was almost empty. There were only three more people besides me. The bartender was cleaning an already clean glass mug with a dish towel, and the other two present were sitting at the corner of the bar, talking to each other in a low voice, so I couldn't hear what they said.

One of them was a small fish-shaped blue creature with big eyes and a wide mouth too, it looked like he was teasing his partner. Said person was a middle-aged man with short black hair, a moustache and a beard. He was wearing a blue shirt underneath a red cape, his wide brown pants were covered from his knees to his waist by scaled pieces of bronze armor.

I walked towards the counter and ordered something a small sandwhich for breakfast. After paying I directly walked out of the Cantina while eating quickly my sandwhich. It was the moment to meet my teammates at the invocation room, so I headed to the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was very crowded at this hour, but I made my way through the mass of people toward the invocation room.

It was a small room in a dim blue lighting. There were ten people besides me: five of them were sitting on a long stone bench to my left, and to my right I could see four people sitting on a stone bench in front of the other five as well. Next to those four people stood a short figure covered in a blue robe with a hood hiding his/her face. They all had noticed me and turned to look at me as I entered the room. My body still couldn't be seen as I was far enough from the small candle trapped inside a blue stained glass sphere that was mysteriously floating in the middle of the room.

The person that was standing a few more steps to my right turned his head towards me and I could notice two gleaming emerald eyes staring at me. I recognized him immediately. I could feel that Ethan smiled under the blue hood, but he didn't move from his place. Then I took a step forward out of the darkness and the dim blue light revealed my body to the expectant people.

And jaws dropped.

I was wearing very simple clothing: a soft short brown leather vest, which was open showing my bare chest fur. Nothing covered my belly so it was bare too, the red color in that area was lighter. Hanging from my neck, a gold chain held an upside down triangle made of gold with an emerald in the center. It was a piece of jewelry that I inherited from my father, who told me when I was a child that it was a charm which gives strength to its owner and protects him from the evil. My legs were only covered by short pants made of the same material than the vest. Finally, covering my hands, a pair of soft brown leather gloves that had the tip of each finger cut so my fingertips could be free.

Then Ethan pulled back his cowl and ran towards me. I lifted him up in my chest and he put his arms around my neck, hiding his face into my chest fur and started sobbing softly. I smiled and caressed the top of his head gently.

"Hey, there's no need to cry, Ethan" I whispered. _"Heh, look who said 'he would be fine' yesterday"_, I thought to myself, smiling.

He lifted his head to look at me with weeping green eyes "But I missed you, brother!" He cried.

"It's ok now, I'm here. Just calm down" I muttered in a warm tone. He stopped sobbing and I left him back down onto the floor.

Then I realized again that we weren't alone and lifted to scan the faces that were scanning me as well.

The five champions sitting to the left were looking at me with diferent types of looks, but all had a curiosity look in common. I could recognize all of them because I watched their profiles in the sight sphere yesterday. They were Miss Fortune, the Bounty Hunter; Karma, the Enlightened One; Olaf, the Berserker; Viktor, the Machine Herald and finally Trundle, the Troll King.

I could recognize three of the four champions in what I supposed was my team: Vayne, the Night Hunter, was the woman that I saw walking through the corridor yesterday; next to her sat Shen, the Eye of Twilight and Caitlyn, the Sheriff of Piltover. And the last champion still had his mouth opened: he was a big muscular polar bear with armor, his electric blue eyes met mine. We held eye contact until few seconds later he seemed to notice I was glaring at him and he swiftly put his gaze on the floor.

Finally, Miss Fortune spoke "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" she purred "what are your names, newcomers?" she asked smirking.

"I am Marcus, the Blazing Heart, pleasure to meet you all, and he is my younger brother, Ethan, 'the Young Genius'" I said with a mocking smile, just to tease him.

"Don't call me that brother! You know I don't like it!" He cried loud annoyed, looking at me with a bothered expression.

"I know, just kidding, ok?" I smiled now warmly, patting his head.

"D'awww, he's such a little cute cub! It's so adorable!" Miss Fortune said staring at Ethan.

Now Ethan was blushing of embarrassment, but he tried to look serious and spoke proudly "I am not a cub, I'm fourteen." Then he looked down a little ashamed "Although I'm not as tall as I should be" he said. "And if you keep annoying me, my brother will knock you out in a second, looser!" he said with a challenging confident grin.

_"What am I going to do with him?" _I sighed in my thoughts.

Miss Fortune and Vayne laughed at the comment "Don't get too cocky, Ethan" said the amused Bounty Hunter.

* * *

**Vayne's POV**

I couldn't hold my laughter at the little wolf's comment.

Then the other summoners started walking in the room and everyone went silent, Marcus sat down next to Volibear, (I think I could see the bear sat up nervously in his place, but maybe it was just my imagination), Ethan put his cowl over his head and stood by Marcus side, facing the other team. "_Wait, I see nine summoners, five by their team's side and by our side there's my summoner, Shen's, Caitlyn's and Volibear's. Where the heck is Marcus' summoner?"_ I thought. I saw Marcus patting Ethan's shoulder and he took a step forward next to the rest of our summoners. Then I suspected something. _"Could this kid be a summoner?! He is underaged, there's no way that can be true."_

When all the summoners were in their positions, the announcer walked in and stood in the middle of the summoners. Then he raised his calm voice:

"The practice match is about to begin. As usual, I am going to call the champions and they will approach to their respective summoners to be sent to the Summoner's Rift" he made a short pause, then continued. "Marcus, the Blazing Heart." He glared at the red wolf.

Marcus stood and my previous doubts were cleared up. He took a step towards his younger brother, who extended a paw which Marcus took looking into Ethan's eyes. Then Marcus dissipated in a thick blue cloud of smoke and light.

Each team member was already summoned and we were at the fountain on the blue side.

"Okay guys" I spoke "As this is the first match for Marcus, he will go to the top lane along with Shen" They stared at each other and nodded "Volibear, can you go to the jungle?" He nodded without saying a word. I turned to my right to face Caitlyn "Cait, can you handle bottom and I will handle mid lane?" I asked her.

"Sure" she replied in a confident tone.

"Okay, oh, and Marcus, this match will be also useful to figure out which role is your best." He nodded. "Well, I wish you all good luck, let's go!" And then all of us headed to our respective lanes.

**END OF CHAPTER ONE**

* * *

**Well, there goes my first attempt. I really hope you enjoy it ^-^**

**Now I'm going to explain briefly what Marcus' abilities do.**

**Passive: Wave of courage. When an ally champion touches Marcus, he powers the next autoattack/spell that that ally champion performs.**

**Q: Path of embers. Marcus shoots a powerful stream of lava in a straight line on the floor, causing physical damage to the enemy champions that it hits and leaving behind a path of burnt earth that slows all entities that step in it.**

**W: Say 'cheese!'. Marcus spreads his arms aiming to his sides and shoots shining flames while moving his arms tracing an arc until he puts his hands together in front of him. The fire deals magic damage to all champions hit. When he puts his hands together, the streams of fire collide, causing a stunning flash that blinds all champions hit by the collision and they take extra magic damage. (The type of blinding would be like the one Graves has).**

**E: Blazing aura. Marcus' fur starts to glow bright red and he gains mevement speed, lifesteal and spellvamp.**

**R (ultimate ability): Fall of the meteors. Marcus kneels on one knee and aims at the sky. He extends his palms and shoots a rain of red, yellow, green and white fireballs that trace an arc in the sky and land in the floor, causing physical damage to all the champions hit. Marcus can change slowly the target while shooting (imagine the new Xerath's ulti, but instead of having three shots, the meteors fall constantly, like Gangplank's ultimate, and you can move the target area slowly during the casting time).**

**Can you guess which will be Marcus' role? :O**

**Well, that's all. Please R&amp;R, I love reviews, so let me what do you think about the story so far! :D Constructive criticism is wellcomed as long as it keeps being 'constructive'.**


	2. Chapter II: Fireworks

**Flame and Thunder**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any League of Legends character, those belong to RiotGamesInc.**

**I do own my OC's, so don't use them in other stories without my permission or claim them as yours.**

**NOTE: **"people talking" / _"people's thoughts"_ / _people talking by telepathy_

Chapter II: "Fireworks"

**Marcus' POV**

Summoner's Rift was a chilly battlefield to my displeasure. The cold air slightly bothered me but I shrugged and thought it was more comfortable compared to the frozen Freljord territories. The damp grass felt like a soft wet pillow beneath my hind paws. Shen walked next to me but keeping a safe distance.

We eventually arrived at where our outer blue tower was standing. He turned to look at me and broke the silence.

"Marcus, do you know what the objective of the match is?" he questioned.

"Yes, we have to fight in our lanes trying to kill or push away the enemies so we can destroy their towers and inhibitors, and eventually capture the enemy nexus." I explained briefly. His masked head nodded.

"One more thing." he said. "Are you experienced in close combat or do you prefer fighting from afar?" he asked. I just grinned and tightened my fingerless, leather gloves. I pointed with two fingers together up to the air and sighed, focusing on the energy flowing inside me. An orange flame formed in the air one inch above my fingertips, shaking in the cold smooth breeze. Then I moved my arm slowly and, with a swift motion, threw the flame, which landed on a rock.

"I see." Shen spoke again. "So you're a fire evoker. This is interesting..." he muttered, getting lost in his thoughts for a moment.

_Brother, can you hear me?_ I heard Ethan's voice inside my head.

_Yes, Ethan. What's up?_ I answered back telepathically.

_The minions have just spawned. They will be in your lane shortly. Are you ready?_ His voice seemed a little tense. I didn't want him to be worried about me, so I cheerfully replied:

_I'm always ready. Let's do this, Ethan!_

_Yes, brother!_

The minions of both teams arrived at the middle of the lane and started battling. I felt an even cooler breeze brush my body fur; it was a different breeze, it announced something was coming, something powerful. I narrowed my eyes, looking around me and charged one flame in each hand, prepared for anything that would come.

A big figure approached behind the battalion of purple dressed minions. It trotted onto its hind legs and its left arm. In its right arm it held a menacing frozen club. Trundle, the Troll King. He stood onto his hind legs and leaned on the frozen stick.

"C'mon, entertain me!" he laughed loudly.

"Ha! I will melt you before you can touch me!" I taunted smirking.

Shen positioned before me, and used telepathy to talk to me.

_Marcus, I will block Trundle's attacks since he and I fight in close distance. Meanwhile, you try to harass him with your flames from afar._

_OK._ I replied.

For three minutes Trundle kept trying to get close to me but Shen was impeding him to do that, throwing sharp blades. Then, the troll would hit Shen with his club and go back to kill our minions. Each time he got close I threw at him flame after flame, leaving black bruises on his blue skin and getting a grumble of pain from Trundle in response. Although he was trying to hide it, Shen seemed exhausted and in pain; Trundle had hit him several times with his club. In contrast to my partner, the troll king seemed to recover a bit of his energy when one of our minions was slain. It was a difficult situation, Trundle could focus on killing Shen if he noticed his state and I would be left alone with the troll.

* * *

**Volibear's POV**

Caitlyn, Vayne and I were standing in the camp of the lizard elder. When it spawned, they helped me to kill it and left heading to their lanes. I used smite and ended its life, gaining the red buff. Then I headed to the ancient golem camp. I usually start in that camp but I wanted to gank in top lane as soon as possible to help Marcus and Shen since they seemed to have trouble confronting Trundle. I was fighting against the large stone golem when I heard a young voice in my head.

_Volibear. That's your name, right?_ I jumped in surprise, looking around to see if it was only my imagination. _I'm talking to you, polar bear. Well, I'm actually communicating telepathically._ The voice spoke again.

_Who is this?_ I managed to ask.

_I'm Ethan, my brother Marcus is fighting in the top lane. He and Shen need your help, Volibear._ He said. I thought that only the champions could talk telepathically during matches. How was he able to do it? Anyways, I got the message.

_I'm on my way, Ethan._ I replied.

_Volibear, get close to Marcus before going for Trundle! _Ethan said.

_OK_. I answered ignoring what was the purpose of that, but Ethan knew Marcus so I relied on him.

I ran through the river and hid in the bush, waiting for my cue. I noticed Shen's fatigue while he stood breathing heavily. I could see Trundle farming minions to heal himself, smashing the little blue creatures with that menacing frozen club.

Then my gaze fixed on Marcus while he was 'farming'. He moved nimbly from side to side throwing amber flames to deal the last hit to the purple minions, as if he was performing a dance with his graceful moves. He spun around while throwing more flames with a skill that could be only compared to Draven's. His dark red fur and golden eyes glistened in the flying light of the flames. I couldn't take my eyes off the hypnotic moves of his hips and his whole body.

Then Trundle began to charge against Shen who dashed across the troll to taunt him. I snapped out of my trance and dropped to all fours charging quickly towards Marcus, who noticed me and took a step towards me. Then something I wasn't expecting happened. He smiled warmly reaching his hand to my cheek as he gave me a smooth stroke, my eyes met his golden pearls and we locked our gazes. I was in shock, paralyzed by the warm touch, feeling a wave of strength and heat running over my body as he touched my cheek.

"Now get that troll, Volibear!" Marcus said as he moved his hand away from my cheek; he looked serious and focused again in the fight but his words were also encouraging.

My body somehow could move again and I charged towards Trundle, who dealt the final smash on Shen's skull, leaving his lifeless body on the battleground.

The voice of a female announcer echoed inside our heads.

"An ally has been slain." She said.

While the troll had struggled to free himself of Shen, I approached him and flung him behind me, sensing that the strength Marcus gave me empowered my rolling thunder.

"Marcus, now!" I shouted at the wolf.

He was ready. Marcus ran towards the confused troll while his fur started to glow in a beautiful ruby red and spread his arms, shooting fire.

"Say 'cheese', Troll King!" he smirked as the streams of fire met around the troll's head leaving burns and blinding the blue monster. He screamed in pain.

Then, he aimed to the ground and lava began to form in his hands. He shot it hitting the blinded troll and leaving embers in its path. Trundle was shouting in pain when his eyesight returned and he started to run away from Marcus but the embers beneath his feet made it difficult for him to run. Meanwhile, Marcus was throwing flames at the troll's injured body.

I started pursuing him to make sure he couldn't escape but Trundle turned around a moment as he raised his fist in the air and a pillar of hard ice came out of the earth just in front of me. Fortunately, I reacted and stopped before I hit it. Trundle hit the ground with his club and a big area around him was covered with ice. He ran with ease over it but as I stepped on the icy surface, I slipped and almost fell on the ground.

He was now too far and I couldn't follow him anymore because the purple turret blocked my way. Trundle had escaped and Shen had died in vain. I stood and turned around with shame in my face to look at Marcus, but he seemed to stay calm and confident. He knelt onto one knee and aimed with his arms up at the dark sky. I looked puzzled at his confident eyes.

* * *

**Vayne's POV**

I was trying to farm while Viktor tried to divide my body in two parts with his laser beam. Olaf got away from the lane into their jungle after his unsuccessful gank.

A colorful flash in the sky caught Viktor's attention as well as mine. I looked up at the sky in the top lane direction and saw a rain of green, red, yellow and white fire balls tracing a colorful arc through the air. The fire balls began to land one after another, and I heard the announcer's voice saying:

"An enemy has been slain."

The only person that could do that was Marcus.

_Good job, 'Fireworks'._ I said grinning and returning to my fight against the machine herald.

Our team eventually won the match, being an example of teamwork. I was proud of Marcus, he was very skilful in handling those flames and he was perfect for the marksman role in the bot lane.

When we returned to the invocation room, Ethan ran into his brother's embrace.

"Whoa brother! You were the best!" he yelled in happiness. Shen patted Marcus' shoulder in approval and Caitlyn nodded her head smiling at Marcus.

"You did well, 'Fireworks'" she said before leaving the room with Shen. The other team waved as they came out from the room. The summoners left the room as well as the announcer.

"Good game." Miss Fortune smirked before leaving.

Only Marcus, Ethan, Volibear and I were still in there.

"Hey 'Fireworks', we're going out this afternoon for a walk around the town. I'll bring some friends. Wanna come?" I asked.

"Sure, that sounds great!" He grinned.

"Ethan, it's lunch time already so you should be heading to your dining room. Do you want to come along with us in the afternoon?" Marcus said smiling and turned to look at me to see if I agreed.

"Of course he can come" I nodded.

"Oh yes! That would be cool." Ethan accepted excited and waved to us before leaving.

I glared at Volibear who was staring at Marcus with a slight blush in his face. _"Oh, I see. I'll leave these two alone,"_ I thought with a devilish smile. Marcus turned around to look at Volibear and he instantly stopped blushing as his gaze drifted away in another direction.

"You _are_ pretty skilled, 'Fireworks'. If I'm chosen to be a captain I'll pick you to be the first on my team." I winked at him and left. _"Now let's give them time to meet each other,"_ I thought, amused.

* * *

**Marcus' POV**

"_Why are they calling me 'Fireworks'?"_ I tilted my head to the side. I turned again to glare at Volibear.

"Volibear, shall we go to the Cantina? I'm starving!" I licked my lips, smiling as he became flustered. "Is there something wrong?" I looked at him, worried.

"N-no. I-I'm ok. I'm h-hungry, too! L-let's go!" he stammered and forced a smile. We left the invocation room heading to the Cantina.

The smell of hot food was overwhelming inside the Cantina. At that hour the bar was crowded to its limit and the champions sitting in the tables were chatting, laughing and making deep noises loudly. As Volibear and I walked between the tables I noticed some looks analysing me. Then my ears tilted toward the direction of a loud shout.

"Heeey 'Fiiiirewoooorks', Voooliiiiii! Over heeeeere!" Vayne was waving her right hand frantically in the air while she cupped the other around her mouth to increase the volume; Miss Fortune, Ahri and Lulu were sitting with her. When she saw that we had heard her, she pointed two empty chairs in their table.

"'Voli'?" I turned around raising an eyebrow and grinning amused to look at Volibear, whose face turned red. He was really... cute when he was blushing.

"She j-just likes to put nicknames to everyone," he mumbled, staring at the floor.

"I see," I started walking towards them but I stopped and turned around to speak to him. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you coming with me?" I smiled. He snapped out of his thoughts and approached the table with me.

I sat next to Lulu as Volibear sat to my right. To his right was Vayne, next to her sat Ahri and Miss Fortune sat between her and Lulu.

"Now this is quite a handsome wolf," Ahri purred in a smooth voice tracing a playful grin with her lips.

"Pleased to meet you!" Lulu said smiling next to me.

"Likewise." I smiled back.

"We were about to order something for lunch, so I thought maybe you didn't mind joining us," Vayne said.

"Yeah, I'm hungry. Thanks for reserving us seats. Now what do they serve here?" I said eager to eat something.

I ordered spaghetti, Volibear went for a big steak and the girls ordered different kinds of salad. When everyone finished their plate, we started chatting.

"Tell us, 'Fireworks'," Miss Fortune said "why did you and your brother join the League?" All the looks fixed on me with curiosity.

I lowered my voice staring down at my empty plate "We are from Ionia. We're homeless since our parents disappeared during a war against Noxus when I was sixteen and Ethan was still a cub. I _had_ _to_ grow stronger to protect Ethan but also to make him stronger so I departed on a trip, taking him along. We sailed to Piltover where I started working for a couple of months to earn money. We had to leave Piltover due to the fact that we couldn't keep paying our foster home. Then we kept travelling and arrived to the Freljord Mountains. We met a hospitable married couple that lived in a lonely house lost in the mountains, and they gladly offered us a warm bed and a plate of soup during our stay. I trained every day in the snow to strengthen my body and my abilities. One day, when I was training in my usual place, the husband of the couple told me that in the center of Runeterra there was the Institute of War which celebrated the League of Legends. With my power they would offer us a home and I could earn money fighting in it. Then, I decided that Ethan and I could try our luck here. And here we are." I looked up at their faces as I went silent. They were also silent, still absorbing the information.

Finally, Ahri broke the silence: "It's an interesting story, Marcus," she said softly.

"I wanted to know why Ethan is called 'the Young Genius'," Miss Fortune said.

"Oh, that's because he has some kind of psychic abilities and he's able to use telepathy to communicate"

"Whoa!" Lulu shouted, amazed.

"Listen," Vayne said to the girls "Marcus, Ethan, Volibear and I are going on a walk around the town now. Anyone wants to join us?"

"I'm so sorry, I'll be busy today with the fans," Ahri said "maybe another day."

"I'm too tired so I'm going to rest. But enjoy yourselves, guys!" Miss Fortune said as she and Ahri waved and left the Cantina.

"What do you say, Lulu?" Vayne asked her.

"Yes, I want to go with you! Plus I have to buy some things in the market" Lulu smiled.

"Well," Vayne stood clapping her hands with a satisfied grin "let's meet at th-" A deep cough between us interrupted her.

"When did I say I was coming along?" Volibear grumbled staring at Vayne. I put a hand on his muscled shoulder.

"Come on, Volibear, we're going to have fun! Pleeeease?" I whined, glaring at him with imploring eyes. He gasped at the contact of my hand and when he turned to look at me he blushed a little.

"I-I... uh... think th-there's no p-problem..." he slowly stuttered with his deep voice, now his face all red as his gaze was locked on the floor.

"Yes! Thank you!" I wrapped my arms around his thick neck leaning my face on his shoulder as my tail was wagging behind me. I felt his body temperature rising when I hugged him; it was hot even for me. I released him and his face slowly recovered its natural snow white color.

"Then, as I was saying, let's meet at the garden's gate in ten minutes! See you there!" Vayne said as Lulu and Volibear followed her toward the exit. I stood up and headed to my room.

Ten minutes later, all five had arrived to our meeting point (I went to Ethan's room to pick him up). Vayne had removed her cape and gauntlets and instead she wore a casual red jacket. Lulu wore a shorter hat than the usual, and Volibear wasn't wearing his armor but a black T-shirt and beige shorts. He looked very nice. Ethan wore a green jacket and jeans and I was wearing my usual vest, shorts, gloves and the gold pendant.

"OK, let's go!" Vayne said and began marching leading the group with Lulu by her side. I walked behind them, Ethan was next to me wagging his tail with excitement. Volibear was the last, walking behind us, lost in his thoughts. I wanted him to come along because I wanted him to have a good time; my objective for that afternoon. I would do anything to make him smile, I promised myself.

**END OF CHAPTER II**

**Next chapter: Chapter III "A night walk"**

* * *

****Wooohoooooo! There goes chapter two! Things are about to turn more and more exciting... I really hope you have enjoyed it ^-^****

******Please, read and leave a review, I LOVE review. So let me know what do you think about the story so far, as always! :D******

******Constructive criticism is wellcomed as long as it keeps being 'constructive'.******


	3. Chapter III: A Night Walk

**Flame and Thunder**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any League of Legends character, those belong to RiotGamesInc.**

**I do own my OC's, so don't use them in other stories without my permission or claim them as yours.**

**NOTE: **"People talking"

"_People's thoughts"_

_People talking by telepathy or dreaming_

Chapter III: "A Night Walk"

**Volibear's POV**

It was a sunny afternoon in September. The sky was clear and the Sun rained the blue area with pride. The smooth cool breeze brushed my fur as I took a deep breath. Pure fresh air mixed with the sweet scent of some types of flowers entered my nostrils. It felt nice. I thought that maybe going out for a walk in the town wouldn't be that bad. We had left the garden's gate behind five minutes ago and the first houses of the town were already showing up on the horizon. We were following a straight path of dirt that cracked the grassy fields around us in two halves. I closed my eyes for a moment as I walked and focused on the sounds I heard. Wild birds singing cheerfully, Ethan humming an unknown tune to me and a chatty Vayne endlessly talking with a giggling Lulu. But I didn't hear Marcus' voice. I opened my eyes as I lifted my head up and saw him walking in front of me, glaring down at the ground in contemplative silence.

Maybe he was bothered because today I had been curt towards him. Each time he had looked at me and had spoken happily, just trying to be friendly, I avoided eye contact and limited to answer dryly. I showed no sign of gratitude towards his kind treatment to me, and he deserved it. The feeling of guilt strangled me. I had to think of something. I gathered all the courage I could and sped up my pace until I was next to him. He seemed to notice and lifted his head up to stare at me with an innocent look in his golden eyes. His wonderful golden eyes. They shone like the sun above golden wheat fields.

"_Wait, did I just think that about him?"_

"What's up, Volibear?" he asked. I shook my head and sighed deeply as I looked into his eyes. This time I kept eye contact so he knew that I meant what I was about to say.

"Er... Marcus, you have been so nice to me this morning and, um... Thank you, honestly." I managed to say in a low voice so that only he could hear it. His face lit up more, if that was even possible, as he traced the warmest grin I've ever seen. I could feel the happiness that filled his beautiful eyes. When I realized that his look was still fixed on mine I felt my face growing hot and I had to look away before I started drooling or doing something stupid.

"You're welcome," he muttered softly. I looked at Marcus, who was now staring down at the ground. A faint pink color appeared on his furry, dark, red cheeks. He was... so cute when he blushed.

"We're here, guys. This is Argila," Vayne said, catching the attention of the group as we walked into the town. It was the first time I visited it; I didn't go out of the Institute very often. The dirt path was replaced by smooth cobblestone. Short, reddish clay houses were gathered in a disorganized way. In the center of that chaos of piled buildings was a square with a fountain. On one side of the square stood a taller building with a thin clock tower. I guessed it was the town hall. We stopped beside the fountain as we saw a very crowded street descending from the square, opposite to the town hall.

"That's the market," Vayne pointed at that street with a finger. "Today is the arrival many foreign merchants with exotic products; that's why it's so crowded," she explained.

"Let's take a look at the market first and then we can decide what to do!" Lulu suggested excited. The group agreed and headed to the humble commercial street.

We dove into the ocean of busy people that filled the market. The long narrow street consisted of _many_ stalls that formed two rows. There were all sorts of stores. The scents of the crowd mixed with the smells that came from some stalls. Some scents were spicy while other, sweet. The merchants shouted announcing their goods as the costumers approached the stalls. I took a glance at the exotic products that were exposed: strange substances in small flasks, charms in many shapes and details, handmade, ceramic objects, as well as many other unique goods.

* * *

**Marcus' POV**

As we pushed our way through the crowd I held Ethan's hand in mine for fear that he would get lost. Finally, we reached the end of the street as we popped out of the mass.

"Lulu and I are going to go shopping, you three can explore Argila freely," Vayne said grinning. "Just meet us in an hour at the square; as the town hall tower is visible from any spot of the town. You can't get lost," she explained.

"See you later, guys! Have fun!" Lulu waved as they walked again into the market street.

"You too!" Ethan shouted smiling.

"Wanna take a look around the town?" I suggested.

"Yes!" Ethan said enthusiastically as his emerald eyes shone.

"Sure," Volibear replied.

Ethan trotted happily before Volibear and me. We were silent, lost in our own thoughts. We had walked for a while and I was still thinking of a way to make him smile when Ethan screamed loudly.

"An ice cream shop! Brother, buy an ice cream for me, please!" He said with pleading eyes as he grabbed my wrist.

"Sure. In fact, why don't we look for a place to sit and eat ice cream all together?" I suggested.

Both of them were ok with the idea, so we ordered three ice-cream cones (my treat) and sat on a bench near the shop. The sweet cream was delicious, I couldn't remember the last time I had tasted one of those. Ethan was the first to finish his and he began asking for another.

"Alright, but this will be the last ice cream you eat this week!" He nodded and I gave him the money. Ethan rushed to the shop and a moment later was walking back happy. When he was near, he suddenly tripped over his feet and almost fell to the floor. He stared at his hand and his lower lip started trembling as he saw that his ice cream wasn't there anymore. Guess where it landed?

In the middle of my forehead. I heard a deep snort next to me. Volibear put a hand on his smiling muzzle to hold in his laughter but when I looked at him frowning with an annoyed expression of 'What do you find so fucking hilarious?' on my face, he burst into a loud deep guffaw as Ethan laughed as well.

"You look like Soraka!" Volibear laughed as a tear formed in his eye. I stood up and walked to the ice cream shop where the clerk lent me a towel to clean my face. I walked back to the bench and sat between Volibear and Ethan. Volibear still had a wide smile spread on his face. _"Well, I didn't need to make a plan after all!"_ I thought as I couldn't hide a satisfied grin. His smile was so... warm and friendly now. I leaned my head closer to his while staring at his grinning face. I raised an eyebrow as my smirk turned into one of amusement.

"I thought you couldn't smile, you boring bear," I teased him.

"How couldn't I? That horn suited you perfectly!" He teased back with a feigned silly smirk on his muzzle.

"How dare you!" I said exaggerating an offended tone. "Someday I'll take revenge for that, 'Mr. Chuckles!'" I said lifting my hand and playfully poked his nose with the tip of my finger.

Ethan narrowed his eyes looking in the direction of the clock tower.

"Brother, an hour has passed. We should head back to the square," he said.

"_Wow, time flies,"_ I thought as I looked at the clock too. "Then, let's go!" I smiled as we began walking towards the square.

Vayne and Lulu were already chatting on a bench when we arrived at the square.

"How'd it go?" Vayne asked.

"Guess what," I said as she and Lulu stared at me with puzzled looks on their faces.

"Volibear can smile! And even laugh!" I said smirking.

"I laughed because ice cream fell on his head!" he said with a mocking tone.

"I guess you have had fun!" Lulu giggled.

"Well, shall we go back to the Institute?" Vayne asked. There was a collective 'yes!' and the group left the town.

* * *

(After dinner. Marcus's room was filled with the full moon dim light)

I was laying on my back in my bed holding the sight sphere. I was watching matches, studying the other champions' strategies. Eventually my thoughts began to wander.

"_Volibear was acting strangely on the way back from the town. He went all silent again and didn't talk to me. Well, neither did I because Vayne kept me busy telling me all about Argila. He didn't even show up later in the Cantina for dinner. I'll talk to him tomorrow."_

I put the sphere on the desk and crossed my hands behind my head. I closed my eyes and my thoughts went blurred like fog.

**. . .**

_I was in my home. Ethan was holding my hand while staring at me with a terrified look on his face. The house shook with each exploding sound outside. I looked through the window: the sky had disappeared behind a large cloud of dust; all I saw in my village was devastation, clouds of toxic smoke and corpses spread all over the village. I recognized the lifeless figures of my friends. I felt a painful stab in my chest. Suddenly, mom and dad ran into the room._

"_Marcus, escape and take Ethan with you. We must stay and fight," dad said._

"_Promise us that you will protect your brother," mom said, tears running down her cheeks as she hugged us tightly._

"_But I want to go with you!" I began to cry._

"_No, you can't, Marcus," she said as her voice cracked._

"_The magic charm I gave you will protect you as well as the people you love. Now, escape," dad said._

_They led us to the limits of the village where a carriage awaited. I got in it as dad lifted Ethan and placed him beside me. Mom hugged us again and only had strength to say "I will always love you". Then the carriage began to move as we were separated from our parents. They stared at us one last time before turning around and disappeared in the cloud of dust._

"_Moooom!" I cried desperately stretching an arm in her direction but it was in vain._

**. . .**

I gasped loudly.

I woke up panting as my heartbeat was racing crazily. "It's just a nightmare," I told myself to relax. I turned my head towards the window and took a glance outside. It was late at night. The full moon spread out a pale blanket all over the wide gardens. I spotted a figure in the dim light that sat leaned against a tree at the edge of the garden zone. I didn't feel like sleeping in that moment, so I decided to take a walk around the gardens.

* * *

Only the rustle of leaves could be heard. The gentle wind of the night caressed my fur with its invisible hands. It seemed as if the time had slowed down in the gardens. Now that I was closer I identified the figure that sat under the tree. It was... Volibear? He wore his black T-shirt and his beige shorts. An idea came up to my mind and I snuck behind the trunk. I covered his eyes with my hands.

"Guess who?" I whispered playfully.

"Marcus?" He asked in a surprised tone.

"Bingo!" I replied with a wide smile as I stood beside him.

"What are you doing here at this hour?"

"I was wondering the same about you," I said.

He shook his head, "I asked first". I thought for a moment and answered his question:

"I've had a nightmare."

"Oh."

He patted his thigh as he smiled warmly, "Want to talk about it?" I nodded.

I laid on the grass and rested my head on his thigh. Then I began telling him the story of the fateful day my village was destroyed by a Noxian battalion. He put a hand on my head while I talked and stroked it gently. A couple of tears formed in my eyes while I talked about the moment I was separated from my parents but before the tears fell, Volibear wiped them away. I stopped talking as I looked at his electric blue eyes that stared at me with concern and care. I got flustered as I felt my face growing hot. I changed the subject.

"Now tell me, what were you doing here?" I asked him. He doubted for a moment.

"Do you mind if we take a walk? I'm going to tell you, I promise," he said.

"Sure." We stood up and went into the leafy darkness, under the looks of the ancient trees.

"Um, well... when I'm nervous and can't sleep I come here," he spoke as if he was choosing every word cautiously. "It's very calm and it helps me to clear my thoughts," he paused for a moment. "You know that the ranked season starts next month, right?" I nodded. "So, I was wondering... if you are selected to be a team captain, I...uh... I'd like to be on your team. Would you pick me?" He said all flustered.

"_Was that all?"_ I thought. "Of course I would, silly bear!" I giggled. He smiled, relieved, but there was _something_ _else _Volibear wasn't telling me. I could note it in his eyes; there was still hesitation in them.

"Volibear, if there's something more you want to talk about, I'm here to listen, though I'm not gonna force you if you don't want to," I assured. Regret flashed for a moment through his eyes and vanished.

"I'm fine, don't worry 'bout me," he lied with a fake smile.

We kept walking until we came out to the pale light of the full moon again. I stopped as I faced him. The white fur of his head gleamed like silver under the moonlight. I took a step forward and hugged him tenderly, pulling our bodies close. He gasped at the sudden contact but wrapped his warm arms around me. I rested my head on his shoulder as I felt his breath caressing the back of my neck.

"Thanks for listening and for the company, Volibear. It helped me a lot," I whispered in his ear.

"You're welcome, Marcus," he paused, "walking with you was n-nice too... Thank you, I really mean it," he muttered in his deep smooth voice.

I moved my hand and stroked his warm back up and down with slow, gentle motions. I felt his heartbeat pounding slowly in my chest and I was sure he also felt mine. If time had stopped in that moment I wouldn't have cared at all.

We remained like that for a minute, then I moved back as I yawned. I giggled while blushing lightly.

"I think I'll take a nap until morning. See you tomorrow?" I asked.

"Sure thing. Sleep well," he whispered smiling as he waved.

"You too," I whispered back as I winked. Then I turned around and headed to my room.

"_I'm sure he will tell me whatever is haunting in his mind. I'll just give him time."_ I thought while I opened my door.

* * *

Time passed in the Institute of War. The vivid green colors of the summer ceded their place to majestic brown, red and orange hues as the autumn arrived. The gardens were an incredibly beautiful sight. Honey, cinnamon and terracotta hues painted the leaves of the trees as they slowly fell, dancing in the air. Ethan would hide in the foliage and it posed a challenge finding him. I usually hung out playing card games with Ethan in _my_ room, since my brother's room was always a mess. In the Cantina I joined Volibear's table at breakfast, lunch and dinner. The other champions that sat with us were Lulu, Nasus, Shyvana and Xin Zhao.

Lulu was cheerful and clever, always making interesting contributions to the conversations. Nasus was the wisest person I'd ever met. He was kind and easygoing, too. I would always ask him for any type of advice. Shyvana, well... she could compete with Ethan to see who was the most hyperactive and enthusiastic. And I bet she would win. However, she was short tempered so I made sure to not to make her angry. Xin Zhao was friendly and a funny man, although he liked to needle Shyvana and often we had to sooth her before she burnt the bar.

* * *

With the autumn came the ranked season. On October 2nd, teams were already listed on the bulletin board in the Great Hall. Obviously, I hadn't been chosen to captain since no one had informed me. In the morning, I went to see the lists with Volibear.

"I'm eager to see who will be my team mates!" I nearly jumped next to him.

"Yeah, me too," he grinned.

We arrived to the wall where the bulletin board hung. We scanned the lists searching for our names when I spotted mine in one of the sheets. And his. And Vayne's as the team captain. _"Wait, why would Vayne put two AD carries (she and I) on the same team?"_ The other two members of the team were Ryze and Sona. I stretched an arm and pointed the sheet with a finger and Volibear looked at it. He gave me a puzzled look as he opened his mouth to speak.

"I know, I just don't know what's in her mind," I said shrugging before he asked.

He turned around and began scanning the room. Then he raised his arm pointing at a bench where Vayne sat with her legs crossed. Volibear and I exchanged looks of resolve and headed to the bench.

"Hey. How are you doing, guys?" She grinned with a feigned innocent look.

"Start explaining yourself," Volibear grunted frowning.

**END OF CHAPTER III**

**Next chapter: "To the peak"**

* * *

**D'awww, that was cute, wasn't it? =^·^= As always, I hope you have enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review. I LOVE reviews!**

**Constructive criticism is wellcomed as long as it keeps being 'constructive'.**

**Author's notes:**

**1.- The name of the town 'Argila' is the Catalonian term for 'clay'.**

**2.- I wanted to put my personal touch in the champions' personalities. I hope you like that hyperactive Shyvana! xD**

**End of Author's notes**

**Also take a look at the Nasus fanfic written by KennyZenned: _Unearthing Hidden Love_. Looks promising! :O I can't post a link since the site disables links so search for the author's profile :D**

********Until next chapter! ;D********


	4. Info about the story (1)

Chapter info &amp; random stuff

Hey guys! Hallelujah Wolf here! First of all, thanks to TheNewGuy94, Soojimasu, KikiFox, sskirito, Dovahzeymah and angelofunseen for following my story. That really makes me happy. Also I encourage all new visitors to leave a review so I can know how I am doing so far. Plus, reviews keep me willing to write more! :D

Chapetr IV: "To the Peak", is going to take a little more of time because I have to do a lot of college work :( (hopefully, around Monday 17th I will have it finished) But I will totally continue writing, this doesn't mean I'm gonna quit, that's for sure ;D

And just to be totally random, here are some songs I love:

"Love, Love, Love" – As Tall As Lions

"It Was You" – 12 Stones

"Worlds Collide" – 12 Stones

"Arms Of A Stranger" – 12 Stones

"Lie To Me" – 12 Stones

"Broken Road" – 12 Stones

"World So Cold" – 12 Stones

"Tomorrow Comes Today" – 12 Stones

"Hey Love" – 12 Stones

"Rolling In The Nexus" – Adele x ClariS (this one is a mix of the original lyrics from "Rolling In The Deep" but with a different instrumentation. It sounds pretty cool!)

Aaaand that's all :D


	5. Chapter IV: To the Peak: Part One

**Flame and Thunder**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any League of Legends character, those belong to RiotGamesInc.**

**I do own my OC's, so don't use them in other stories without my permission or claim them as yours.**

**NOTE:** "People talking"

"_People's thoughts"_

_People talking by telepathy or dreaming_

Chapter IV: "To the Peak": Part One

**Vayne's POV**

Marcus and Volibear came from the crowd that surrounded the bulletin board; their puzzled and somewhat annoyed looks were drilling my soul as they approached me. I already knew they would react like this. Sometimes I think these two are clueless.

"Hey. How are you doing, guys?" I asked grinning as if I didn't know what was going on.

"Start explaining yourself," Volibear grunted, frowning.

I erased the innocent expression off my face and became serious, yet calmed.

"Listen, this is the reason why I made up the team as it is. Marcus, you'll go bot with Sona, like a normal bot lane composition. Volibear, you'll jungle. Ryze will handle mid lane. As you're our tank," I said to Volibear, "I'll go top in order to counteract most of the tanky top laners that we'll probably have to deal with."

They looked at each other with a scared expression on their faces.

"Hey, hey. I'll be fine!" I said as I waved a hand in front of them to dissipate their worries. I stood up and put my hands on their shoulders. "How about we lunch together today in the Cantina to celebrate that we are on the same team again?" I suggested with my brightest smile. "Can I join your table today?"

"I don't think it's a good ide-" Volibear started, but was cut by Marcus.

"Sure, why not!" He said grinning.

"Thanks 'Fireworks', you're the best!" I smiled at him. Volibear seemed concerned.

"Come on, 'Voli', I'm not going to embarrass you!" I said as I let out a snicker. "Well, I gotta go now, see ya later at the Cantina!" I waved as I headed to my room.

**Volibear's POV**

When Vayne was out of sight, Marcus turned to look at me with those golden pearls. I looked away trying to hide the blush on my cheeks. I looked at Marcus out of the corner of my eye to catch a grin on his face.

"Hey, it's great we are on the same team again!" he said as his bright smile shone like the Sun itself.

"Um, yeah," I smiled in an attempt to cover up my nervousness.

"This month will be full of action! I can't wait to fight new opponents!" Marcus said as he energetically gestured throwing invisible flames to an invisible target. His blazing smile never left his face. It seemed like he was the most beautiful star in the cosmos and I couldn't take my eyes off it, hypnotized by its eternal beauty.

"_Volibear, what's wrong with you? Marcus is your friend. Do you want to ruin your friendship telling him he's 'the most beautiful person you've ever met'? He would probably think you're a creep and never talk to you again."_

I shook my head. Yeah, that would be awkward. But he was always so kind to me and tried to cheer me up when things didn't go well...

I put those thoughts aside as he spoke again:

"Oh, I forgot! I was going to see Ethan! He's gonna kill me!" He said snickering. "See you at lunch, 'Voli'!" He said as he waved and winked an eye at me, then turned and headed to the stairs.

I stood there, paralyzed, as my face turned hot like a furnace. _"Did he call me 'Voli'?"_ I felt a tingling in my stomach. Feelings spun inside my head like a Ferris wheel. All I could do now was wait for lunch time.

**Marcus' POV**

(In the Cantina. Lunch time. Volibear, Marcus, Lulu, Xin Zhao, Shyvana and Nasus were already sitting at the table.)

The Cantina was crowded, as it usually was by this time of the day. From my seat I could see some champions I had gotten along with among the other tables such as Miss Fortune, Alistar, Udyr, Zac and Tristana. Volibear sat next to me and seemed a little nervous.

"Is everything okay, Voli?" I asked him. He stared at me with a puzzled look.

"Why do you call me 'Voli'? He asked.

"You are my best friend. Can't I give you a nickname?" I asked back with pleading eyes. He blushed lightly and looked away, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, I... suppose you can." He muttered softly so only I could hear it. I smiled happily.

"He's not the only one that can call you 'Voli'. I was first," a familiar female voice said from behind us. We turned around to see Vayne standing there, dressed in her casual red jacket and green pants. She smirked, amused as she sat between Lulu and me. As we were all sitting we ordered lunch.

I didn't talk very much during the whole meal, just nodded or shook my head and made "hmm"s of understanding. As it was usual, Xin Zhao bugged Shyvana as she tried her best not to burst. Vayne was chatting with Lulu noisily, and I listened to the conversation Volibear had with Nasus which consisted in the Curator telling how his life was when he lived in Shurima. My attention drifted towards my meal as I ate my sandwich slowly.

Eventually, Vayne raised her voice to talk to all of us.

"I'm so proud to have 'Fireworks' on my team!" She said, smiling brightly as she put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure he'll do his best! Right?"

"Of course! I'm eager to start fighting!" I said with a determined look and a confident grin.

"Keep this in your mind: always have fun when you fight!" Lulu cheered.

"If the chance of a fight between us happens… may the pleasure be mine," Nasus smiled warmly.

"I swear for Demacia that if I get to face you in the Summoner's Rift I won't hold back any of my effort!" Xin Zhao stated solemnly, which meant he was serious.

"I'll use all my power to fight you as a worthy opponent." Shyvana grinned.

I looked at Voli who turned his face to stare at me as well.

"Let's put our greatest effort into the battlefield!" He made a happy toothy grin. I felt my heart pounding faster. Seeing him smile was a gift for my eyes.

"I gotta go get some things ready for tomorrow. Our first match is the first one of the morning," Vayne said as she stood up. "Bye all," she grinned and waved at us as she turned around and left the Cantina.

Volibear and I stood at the same time by chance and walked out of the bar after we said goodbye to our friends.

When we were out of the Cantina I faced Voli.

"Well, see you at dinner, Voli." I smiled warmly.

"Yeah, until then." He smiled back softly. His electric blue eyes glowed like sparklers in a summer night.

We headed to our respective rooms.

Dinner was a normal meal that night. We talked about the same things we usually did when we were eating together. I was the first to finish my food, so I stood up and said goodbye to all of them.

I went to my room and closed the door behind me. Then I walked into the bathroom and closed the door. I turned the knob of the shower to the hot water side and the transparent element started to spray from the shower head, cold at first, but slowly becoming warm. I removed my clothes and carefully placed my pendant on a low stool. Then I walked into the shower. The hot drops splashed on my head and shoulders and formed streams that ran down my chest and back, legs, feet, and ended in the drain. The water soaked my fur as I used my hands to clean it, stroking it gently. Steam started to fill the bathroom. I took a bottle of soap from a little case in one of the walls of the shower and squeezed it as the thick liquid was poured on my palm. I began rubbing my head, then my chest, arms and the rest of my body. The citrus smell of the soap mixed with hot steam invaded my nostrils. Then I stepped under the shower head and let the water take the soap off my body. The renewing sensation I felt in that moment was priceless. I stepped out of the shower and took a towel to dry myself. When my fur was only a little damp, I wrapped the towel around my waist, grabbed my charm and placed it around my neck and walked out of the bathroom. There was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" I asked without opening.

"Marcus?" a female voice said, "It's me, Shyvana. Can I come in or are you busy?"

I opened the door smiling lightly. "No, I'm not busy, I just showered. Sure, welcome to my 'quarters', milady."

She stayed at the doorframe. "Marcus! Y-you have a t-towel...! I-I mean, you d-don't have c-clothes on?!" She screamed blushing.

I rolled my eyes. "I have a towel, and it won't fall from my waist, I'm sure about it." I said calmly as I made a gesture with my hand pointing her to come in. "It's late. What did you come for?" I questioned.

"Well..." she scratched behind her head, "I just wondered if you were nervous about tomorrow. You know, the ranked matches and that stuff. I came to talk a little."

"Actually, I'm a little nervous, but I can handle it." I answered. I sat on my bed and patted the bed next to me, but she shook her head. "What do you want to talk about?"

"It'll be short. Have you studied your next opponents, Marcus? You are going to face Draven tomorrow. He's one of the strongest champions in the League." She said with a look of concern in her face.

**END OF CHAPTER IV: Part One**

**Next Chapter: Chapter IV: "To the Peak": Part Two**

* * *

**Hey! I'm so sorry guys, I have been through a lot of business u.u But I came back, didn't I? So please read and write a review! Because reviews help me a lot and encourage me to keep writing for you! Thank you all! Special thanks to: Soojimasu, KennyZenned, Dovahzeymah, mustacheman1234 a.k.a. my dearest Roy the yordle; Kohomaru for being such a qt and encouraging me to write more! Also thanks to all my followers from Tumblr, (Liss~ ;D, WolvenFangs *hugs you*, Nunu (I suppose you follow the story?) *anyways, a bear hug to you sir!* etc.)**

****Constructive criticism is wellcomed as long as it keeps being 'constructive'.****

**See ya soon! Take care, I love you people!**


	6. Chapter IV: To the Peak: Part Two

**Flame and Thunder**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any League of Legends character, those belong to RiotGamesInc.**

**I do own my OC's, so don't use them in other stories without my permission or claim them as yours.**

**I'm so sorry for the long delay, people! I have been really busy AND not inspired to write.**

**NOTE:** "People talking"

"_People's thoughts"_

_People talking by telepathy or dreaming_

Chapter IV: "To the Peak": Part Two

**Marcus' POV**

I gave a nonchalant grin to the half-dragon.

"Don't worry, Shyvana. I'll be fine," I let out a chuckle "although I haven't fought very much, I've studied my opponents abilities."

She still looked a little worried, but seemed to give up with the warning.

"Well, Marcus, I can only wish you luck." She flashed a smile and turned around. "Take care." The half-dragon said before leaving the room, closing the door. I unwrapped the towel that covered my lower body and put on my shorts. After turning off the lights I laid on my bed. I laid facing the ceiling of my room, my thoughts wandered around the events of the past day, until they became blurry and vague, leading me to my sleep.

The next morning I woke up early, ate my breakfast quickly and went to train outside, in the Gardens, oblivious to the fact that I was going to have a pleasant time there with someone. The Sun was about to show up in the horizon, so the sky was a pale blue colour. A fresh morning breeze blew through the trees. The wind carried several scents of the dawn: pollen, damp earth and... a familiar smell. My ears stiffened in order to prick up my hearing and I scanned my surroundings with my gaze. I made way through the vegetation, following the trail of smell. The autumn withered leaves rustled beneath my feet as I kept walking. When I sensed I was closer since the smell was stronger, I slowed down to approach him more carefully.

I saw him standing in front of a bush. He had his hands in his waist, before him, so I couldn't see what he was doing. I stopped a few feet away. Volibear turned his head when he heard my footsteps and blushed. With wide eyes, the bear let out a grunt of surprise and coughed with difficulty, his cheeks still red.

"What are you doing, Voli?" I couldn't hold back a chuckle, seeing the Thunder's Roar all flustered. My tail swayed slowly as I threw him a look of amusement. The polar bear turned around abruptly and I could see what he had been doing: the bush behind him gave beared blueberries. He had been eating, since it was visible in the corner of his lips a big dark blue stain. Volibear cleared his throat and glared at me with an embarrassed and somewhat annoyed look.

"I like the b-blueberries that grow in the Gardens... These are better than the ones offered in the Cantina, so sometimes I get up early not to b-be seen and come here to have breakfast." He said with his face red.

"_I caught you red-handed, or rather, blue-mouthed." _I thought to myself, amused.

Then his face turned even more red, looking like a tomato, and he extended his hand towards me. There were some of these blue fruits.

"D-Do you want to try them…?" Volibear stammered, glaring at me with those embarrassed and beautiful electric blue eyes.

"Well, why not? Thank you." I said as I took the fruits of his shaking hand and tried them. "They are sweet... Hmmm... you were right." I grinned, licking my lips. Then I sensed time had passed and thought the time for the match had come. "Oh, no! I forgot about the match! We are going to be la-"

"No, don't worry." He cut me. "We have time to calmly walk back to the Institute. The match starts in twenty minutes, we will be in the summoning room in five." He explained crossing his arms, a neutral tone of voice and expression marked his face.

I relaxed. "Alright, then we should get going." He nodded in response.

We made our way out of the Gardens, facing the impossive as always Institute of War. During the walk, we didn't exchange a word, but sneaky looks flown between us.

* * *

**Vayne's POV**

I was sitting on the stairs of the entrance of the summoning room, Ryze and Sona were standing beside me. The blue mage tapped his foot on the ground, his arms crossed, as his eternal impatient expression and look pierced the two champions that walked towards us.

They arrived to the stairs and Marcus smiled to me. Volibear flashed a small grin. Sona nodded to them smiling warmly, while Ryze huffed.

"You are almost late." He said grumbling.

"Come on, grumps, they're not technically late!" I said, waving my hand in the air. He grunted and sighed.

"Let's come in, the enemy team is waiting already." Ryze said, turning around and entering the room through the black curtains.

I shrugged looking at the rest and stood up, entering after the mage.

* * *

**Marcus' POV**

I entered the room the last, after Volibear. Inside the room, the dim blue light created a ghostly atmosphere. All the summoners, including Ethan were at their positions. The enemy team was there as well. First, there was a red and purple monster, rather small, with many fangs and claws. It's green eyes glowed with a sinister gleam. Then, a man dressing like a samurai with a longsword. His head was covered by a strange helmet. Then, a small creature dressed with blue clothing and a pointy hat. He had claws and a staff. His face wasn't visible, I could only distinguish a pair of gleaming yellow eyes. Then, a female creature with violet skin, goat legs and a horn. _"That must be the Soraka Volibear mentioned."_ She held a staff that had a moon at the edge. Finally, there was an archer. She had a deep blue and gold cape with cowl and silver hair. She had ice blue eyes that looked rather warm than icy.

I sat on my position and the announcer walked in a minute later. He said the same as the last time except for the practice match part:

"The first match of Season Five is about to begin. I'm going to proceed to call each champion as always."

And one by one, we were summoned in the Rift.

"Brrrr, chilly as always..." I grumbled as I headed to the bottom lane with Sona. We started on the red side, so Sona and I went to help Volibear with the frog monster. When I left to go back to my lane, I felt as if he stared at me while he finished the monster. Perhaps it was my imagination.

In lane, I focused on farming as well as dodging the volleys of frozen arrows Ashe threw towards me. From time to time I blinded Ashe to deny her some creeps, while Sona injured them with auto attacks and blue strings of melody. Soraka was doing her job well, healing Ashe before we hit her and silencing us preventing our engages.

"_Brother! Can you hear me? Vayne is doing very well against Cho'Gath, with some help from Volibear, even though that monster has become enormous! On the other side, Ryze isn't having much luck facing Veigar, the evil mage stuns him quickly and has killed him twice. If you push your lane enough, both of you can go mid to stop him."_ I heard Ethan voice telling me. _"Sure thing. Thank you, Ethan."_ I heard a positive giggle in response. Sona and I puushed fast, it was easy due to my Path of Embers and my passive combined with Sona's. We went together to our base to regenerate. Then, we headed to midlane, and hid in the bush of the river. Ryze noticed us, not showing any sign of it in order that Veigar would remain unaware and confident.

* * *

**Volibear's POV**

I soon joined my botlane, making my way along the river. My quiet steps resonated softly on the water as I approached them and bent beside Marcus, my eyes focused on Veigar's and Ryze's position. Then, I felt Marcus turned his head to me, and I glanced back at him. Again… those eyes… it was like staring into the brightest Sun, the gleam of these golden eyes made me melt inside. I gave a soft smile, which was responded by a grin from him. What a handsome and beautiful wolf… He then placed his hand on my forearm, gripping it gently. He was transmitting his passive to me, which felt, sincerely, like a powerful vitamin. His warmth was so comforting, it gave me security and made me focus better. I nodded at him, with a slight flush on my cheeks which I hoped he wouldn't notice and looked straight at the lane.

It was the moment, since Veigar had stunned Ryze and he was charging his Dark Matter. I didn't hesitate, charging forward. Our mage snapped out of the stun and was quick enough to trap Veigar in the Runic Prison, which gave me enough time to reach him, plus Sona gave me some movement speed. I threw Veigar above my shoulders and I heard how my team mates ended his life. We took this opportunity to destroy the midlane turret and slay the Dragon. Master Yi came trying to steal it, but Sona and Ryze stopped him, I heard Sona's ultimate and Ryze killed him, since I heard the man's cry of pain.

Throughout the game, I ganked Ryze a couple more times and Veigar couldn't do much but lose his lane. I went once again top as well. There, Cho'Gath surprised Vayne, landing a good Rupture on her while she was invisible, and silenced her and ate her in an instant. I was used to these kind of horrifying things in my job, but Cho'Gath's ultimate was one of these things you never get used to observe, I felt my stomach whirling. With my ultimate ability and a powerful bite I finished him, since his lane was pushed and I ran faster than him.

At the end, we won, mainly carried by Marcus. His graceful and fatal moves plus his area of effect ultimate ability caused enormous amounts of damage in the team fights.

After being teleported back to the summoning room, Vayne highfived our whole team and we respectfully thanked the enemy team for the game. We needed to win only one more game to pass to the next division. As I walked out of the room, I felt a pat on my back.

"Well played, Voli." Marcus said grinning as he walked beside me. The wolf was a little taller than me seemed to be in high spirits.

"Did you have fun?" I asked smiling gently at him.

He nodded and gave a toothy, handsome smile. "Mostly because I could see your amazing skills."

I felt as a slight blush settled on my cheeks. "I… did nothing compared to how you carried us, Marcus." I humbly explained.

"Stop being so humble, your ganks were flawless as Ethan has told me. I might ask you to train with you one of these days, if that is okay with your schedule." He said winking an eye.

I blushed again and looked down. "Yeah, it is completely fine with me..." I said with a low voice.

"Now we should go to have a break and then lunch. This afternoon is the second match. Oh! Lulu and Nasus are playing right now! Wanna go see them?" He asked enthusiastically.

I smiled widely. "Of course!" _"Anything for spending time with you."_ I thought.

**END OF CHAPTER 4 PART 2**

**Next Chapter: Chapter IV: "To the Peak": Part Three**

* * *

**Hello again! This is the Author. You can call me Alex, by the way. Yes! This is a comeback! I promised I wouldn't stop writing, and I am a man of my word. Lots of things have happened, stopped and changed in life, and unfortunately mine is a busy one, when these things tend to occur. But I am back! So please! Ask me a bunch of questions you wonder about the story! I might not respond to the ones that reveal an important part of the story. **

**IMPORTANT: I am very active in my Tumblr blog. My URL is: bewarethefireworks**

**There I roleplay as Marcus, my character. It is a multi-ship blog, OC friendly, NSFW friendly and also an ASK BLOG! I will mainly respond to your asks there, since it is my preferred site. Anonymous questions are welcome as well! ^^**

**And that is all! A huge THANK YOU to all of you who have been cheering for me to continue it and haven't lost the interest. You are truly amazing. See you in the next chapter! ^^ (Hint: there will be a part 3 of Chapter IV).**


	7. Chapter IV: To the Peak: Part Three

**Flame and Thunder**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any League of Legends character, those belong to RiotGamesInc.**

****I do own my OC's, so don't use them in other stories without my permission or claim them as yours.****

**NOTE:** "People talking"

"_People's thoughts"_

_People talking by telepathy or dreaming_

Chapter IV: "To the Peak": Part Three

**Marcus' POV**

(Marcus alone in his room, after lunch.)

"_Only ten minutes until the match starts… I should head downstairs."_ I thought. I looked at myself in the mirror one last time. Perhaps it was my imagination, but I could see a dark, shaded aura around me. The thought of that 'Draven' haunted my head. As I opened the door and kept walking to the Summoning Room, my heart beat very fast. It almost hurt. I was nervous, tremendously thrilled. I could feel my fur standing up and my legs almost failing to react with each step. I closed my eyes as I arrived to the last stair of the Great Hall and spotted my team. I stopped and breathed as deeply and slowly as my lung muscles allowed me. Then, I opened my eyes and paced myself towards my team.

They all looked at me. Vayne patted my back, Ryze nodded at me. It seemed I had gained his trust. Sona smiled gently and finally Volibear grinned with a look of encouragement. We entered in the dark Summoning Room. As always, everyone was there, except for the announcer. I sat on my place and scanned the enemy team. First, a small, blue-furred creature with a mohawk hairstyle was standing on a machine that looked like a combat robot. Next to him, on the bench, sat a muscled man, I would say from Ionia. He had a red bandage wrapped around his head, covering his eyes. I could recognise the woman sitting next to him. It was Karma, the Duchess of Ionia, mostly known as the Enlightened One. I heard tales about her from the elders of my village. It was going to be an honor facing her in the fields. Next, a skeleton in a worn coat, his head floating between an eerie green light. He carried many keys in his belt, a lantern in his left hand and a chain that had a scythe blade in its end in his right hand. I don't know if he was that Draven, or the man sitting next at the edge of the bench. The man had a long thin mustache that fell on each side of his mouth. His hair pointed upwards, he had stripe marks in his face from his eyes to his neck. He carried something that looked like axe blades. His eyes and smug grin pierced me as he let out a low chuckle.

The announcer entered right a couple seconds after I sat on my place. I sighed to relieve tension before being summoned into the Rift.

* * *

**Volibear's POV**

We all headed to our lanes, I gave a last quick glance to check on Marcus, who was staring at the floor thoughtful as he walked slowly to bot lane. I turned my head to the camp of the golems and awaited them.

Ten minutes in, I had ganked and assisted Ryze on slaying Karma and unfortunately we couldn't get Rumble in top lane. Lee Sin appeared in my jungle a couple minutes ago and despite Ryze came to assist me, I was too low to fight so we retreated. I didn't hear the announcer a single time mention the bot lane. I thought they both would be playing safe. I made my way into the dragon side of the river and killed the snail crab to get vision, then I crouched in the river bush, waiting as Draven and Thresh began to push the lane. I heard their voices then.

"My new prey is scared, eh? Hahahaha! Come on, let Draven have a little fun with you!" Draven laughed as he farmed the minions while Thresh zoned Marcus and Sona. She seemed a bit injured, probably for defending Marcus.

The wolf's face was focused in lane, thankfully he was too smart to fall into Draven's taunts. I saw how his teeth clenched every time the executioner spoke. Then, both Sona and Marcus gave me a quick glance. I prepared myself, waiting for the right moment… Thresh threw his hook but Marcus dodged it. Now.

I dashed on all fours towards Draven, Sona quickly stunned them and Marcus started burning them with flames, then he used his power to launch the meteors. I was right a few meters away from Draven, shortening the distance between us when Thresh snapped out of the stun and pushed me away with the sharp scythe, making one deep cut on my side and several scratches. Draven ran away, he was almost dead but Marcus couldn't finish him since he was panting, on his knee, after using his ultimate. Sona and I finished killing Thresh. We walked up to Marcus. I crouched beside him and then I noticed all the cuts he had over his chest and arms. They didn't look too bad since Sona had been healing him, but he was definitely having a hard time in lane. I closed my eyes for a second, cursing that damned smug idiot, then I felt a pat on my thigh and I opened my eyes again. He opened his eyes slightly and smiled as bright as he could, as if he was pretending he was all fine.

"Thanks for the gank." He simply said, his warm, comforting voice was deteriorated from the exhaustion.

"It's my job." I replied smiling briefly back, clearly still concerned about his wounds. Without a word, I lifted him in my arms -damn, he was a heavy big wolf- and slowly carried him to our base. He did not oppose resistance and closed his eyes. He looked really tired…

I left him on the floor of the base, watching as his wounds healed slowly. I also healed and then he got up. He smiled at me and in that moment, seeing his bright face again, I couldn't hide my blush. He turned around, not seeming to have noticed, and spoke.

"It seems Ryze is winning his lane. Maybe you should help out our friend Vayne a bit." He winked. I nodded.

"Get your hairy butt around here soon, you lazy bear!" We heard Vayne say by telepathy. The three of us chuckled. Sona and Marcus looked at each other and headed back to their lane. I watched them for a while, my eyes nailed on Marcus' back. I snapped out of it and walked back into the jungle.

After getting done with the camps I headed to top lane, where Vayne was under her turret and Rumble threatened with diving. I grinned. When the Yordle got under the turret I simply crossed my arms and enjoyed the show. Vayne used her ultimate and tumbled becoming invisible, then impaled Rumble against the turret which was devastating the machine. Vayne shot barrages of bolts gracefully and the Yordle was slain, disappearing after a couple seconds, being teleported to base. I walked in.

"You just love watching and doing nothing, don't you?" She asked with a grin, she wasn't being serious.

"Ooooh, I love letting you do all the work." I grinned back.

"Alright, let's get this turret down!" She commanded, we both took the building down in no time. Meanwhile, Ryze went bot lane and they expelled Thresh and Draven out of the lane, so they three went to get the dragon, but Lee Sin appeared. They managed to kill the dragon with a coordinated burst, but they couldn't kill the monk, who dashed away with a ward of vision after failing to steal the winged beast's buff. Our team also took bot lane turret, while Karma took mid.

The match went on without many events, only Rumble died again to Vayne and me. I was heading to bot since I heard they were having some trouble. Marcus looked exhausted again, I saw how Draven threw an axe towards him that made a cut on his side, Marcus groaned as the axe flew back to the executioner. I clenched my teeth, wanting to go in and rip his throat apart, but I knew in the back of my head that I had to wait for a good moment. Then, I saw the smug grin widen, Draven's eyes gleaming in bloodlust as he lifted his arms backwards, ready to launch his axes towards Marcus. Sona got hooked by thresh which impeded her healing powers and I knew I had to go in, even if that meant getting myself killed. I dashed towards Marcus as I saw out of the corner of my eye that Draven threw his axes towards him. I pushed the wolf out of the way, and then, I felt them. I felt the whirling axes digging into my back, blood splattering around. I looked at Marcus, who was staring in terror at me, but Sona healed him and made him react, he got up and walked away while staring back into my eyes.

"_At least you're safe..."_ I thought, next to that, my vision blurred and turned black as I felt chains wrap around me and a last hit. Then, I stopped feeling anything.

I woke up at base. I didn't know how long I had been dead nor how the match was going. I sat up and then I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Sona, recovering from some wounds. I looked up at her, she smiled warmly at me and pointed towards the mid lane. I could see all the way to the end of it, my team was taking the enemy nexus. I smiled relieved. This season was over.

* * *

(Back in the Summoning Room)

I saw Marcus having a brief talk with Karma, they were smiling gently and it seemed they got along. Ethan was right behind his brother, then he noticed me and waved, smiling briefly. I waved back with a warm smile. Only us were in there, everybody else had already left. Then, Karma left after saying a polite goodbye to the wolf which he responded in the same way. Then, Marcus turned to me and approached. I stared nervously into his eyes, but soon my eyes searched for anywhere else around.

"Volibear." He said. "Why did you do that for me? That wasn't worth it." He said serious, with a tone of concern in his voice.

"..." I struggled inside to find the right words.

"_Because I love you!"_

"Because you're my team mate, plus the tank has to protect the carry, right?" The words came out clumsily and pitifully as I chuckled at the end of the sentence.

"...You don't need to sacrifice yourself… for me..." His voice became lower as he spoke. "...but thanks." He said lowering his head as he walked past me and left the room, Ethan behind him.

My head dropped down, looking at the floor. I sighed and made my way to my room, having the feeling of having done something dumb in front of him, feeling I have disappointed Marcus...


End file.
